Growing Up, Growing Old, & Learning the Hard Way
by Trickster Puppet
Summary: Follow the journey of the Dursley's, Potters, Weasley's and Malfoy's on an insightful journey that sets them all questioning love, life, hate, growing up, growing old, and the lessons of life. 2nd Gen. Fluff, possible incest, slash, possible smut. Novell
1. Introduction

**Author: **Me, myself & I (Trickster Puppet on FF)  
**Length/Status:** Novella/Unfinished  
**Genres: **Romance, friendship, angst, humour, drama, & much more  
**Rating & Warning:** Currently T, future chapters may lean towards M. Slash, het, smut, fluff, sensitive topics (possibly), incest, possibly some violence.  
**Characters: **Dudley Dursley, Leann Dursley (OC), Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley-Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger-Weasley, Rose Weasley, Albus S Potter, Scorpius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, Peter & Carolina Dursley (Ocs) + more  
**Pairings: These aren't all romantic pairings, nor may they all occur, they're simply what I think will occur. **Dudley/Lean, Harry/Ginny, Hermione/Ron, Scorpius/Rose, Albus/Scorpius, Albus/Peter, Scorpius/Albus/Peter, Draco/Harry, Draco/Ginny, Draco/Hermione, Luna/Harry, Luna's kids/Wealey, Potter & Dursley children, plus many more  
**Authors Notes: **This is un-beta'd. If you would like to beta for me, please, just contact me through LJ or FF. Now, I first wrote this intending it to be a one-shot, but then I realized how much potential it has to become a Novella. And so, I give you the beginning of one of my favorite creations. The title of the story, and the chapter titles, all hold meaning ;]

**  
Growing Up, Growing Old, & Learning the Hard Way**

If I were to begin where it all began, then this would be a very long summary indeed. Instead, I will begin at the relevant beginning of this story.  
It started with a war, a flash of green light, and a scar. The Boy-Who-Lived was born, and everywhere was his name known - that is, at least in the wizarding world. However, in the world of muggles, he was just another play-thing for the entertainment of Dudley Dursley.

Now, if you are reading this, I'm sure you all know of the story of Harry Potter and how he grew up, about Aunt Marg and being chased into a tree, and of the numerous encounters with none other then Lord Voldemort himself. Harry Potter faced many emotional and physical dangers, and hurts, but the very first began with a certain Dudley Dursley.

The exact start of this story is set nearly ten years after Harry Potter began The-Boy-Who-Conquered. His contact with his muggle family is none, and Dudley has grown from spoilt brat to a fine young man in those short years. However, not far into his wifes pregnancy, secrets emerge, and things begin to play out like no one ever expected.

Now fast forward to when Scorpius Malfoy, Albus Severus Potter, Rose Weasley, the Loony Twins and Peter & Caroline Dursley are beginning their first year at Hogwarts. Harry and Dudley glimpse each other, but no words are exchanged. The Potter, Weasley and Dursely children remain unaware that they are related... so what happens due to their ignorance when friendships, relationships, and wars begin to bloom all round?

Well, if you wanna find out - stick around. Warning: You're in for one hell of a ride!**  
**


	2. When a Witch Marries a Muggle

**I at first intended this to be a one shot, or at least, just a few chapters. However, as I came close to finishing this chapter, I realized how much potential this fan fiction had and decided to attempt a novella. **

**I can't remember when I became interested in what happen to the Dursley's, but I think it began with wanting to write a different pairing. I thoroughly enjoy writing this, and I truly hope you enjoy reading it! **

**Feedback is loved, even if it is only a few words. Its the sort of thing that keeps me _wanting_ to write, as I know it is entertaining someone else.**

**Now, before this A/N gets too long, I'd like to mention that there is probably going to be a heap of pairings in this. They will possibly be as follows, some more likely then others, and they don't limit themselves to romantic relationships – they could be other sorts of relationships that will play a distinguished role in the plot.**

**Dudley/Leann, Harry/Ginny, Hermione/Ron, Scorpius/Rose, Albus/Scorpius, Albus/Peter, Scorpius/Albus/Peter, Draco/Harry, Draco/Ginny, Draco/Hermione, Luna/Harry, Luna's kids/Weasley, Potter & Dursley children, plus many more =]**

**Un-beta'd**

Dudley froze when his hand brushed against something long, hard and thin in his wifes drawer. He was looking for his keys, and having not found them anywhere else, he decided to look in the drawers. Brushing aside the underwear, Dudley's eyes widened slightly as he lifted up the 14 inch willow wand.

It had been close to eight years since he had last seen a wand, and that had been when he and his parents had been shipped off from number four private drive to a safe house. Dudley hadn't seen Harry, or heard from him, since then – he didn't even know if he was alive!

Though he wouldn't admit it, as Dudley had grown from a spoilt boy to a young man who actually had a brain in his head, he had begun to regret his treatment of Harry. One of the things he would like most would be to apologize, but even if he knew where Harry was, Dudley knew he couldn't bring himself to face Harry. Not yet, anyway.

A creak at the bedroom door caused Dudley to startle and drop the wand onto the wooden drawers, resulting in sparks shooting from its tip. Dudley spun around quickly, only to be faced with his wife, Leann One hand was on her swelling stomach, the other over her mouth. Dudley frowned, he didn't like seeing her distressed.

"Why... why didn't you tell me you were a witch?"

Leann blinked once, surprised that Dudley even knew what a witch was, let alone a wand. It looked like she wouldn't be able to get out of this one by saying the wand was just a stick. "I didn't know how you would react..." she murmured, stepping closer to Dudley. Her eyes were revealing a number of feelings, now, mostly concern for him.

Stepping towards Leann and wrapping his arms around her, Dudley pulled the slight woman with him onto the bed. She leaned into him, unable to help but smile when Dudley's hand joined her own on the bulge that held their growing child.

"My cousins a wizard," Dudley said suddenly, "He saved me from Dementors once."

Leann froze, gaping slightly at Dudley and nearly falling off the bed. "You have a _cousin_?" The fact that Dudley had failed to mention that he had a cousin seemed to affect Leann more then the fact that said cousin was a wizard. "What's his name? Why didn't you tell me? Do you still keep in touch with him?"

"Because it never came up. Besides, I haven't spoken to him in nearly ten years, so I don't even know if he's alive or not. His names Harry. Harry Potter."

This time, Leann did fall off the bed in an ungraceful heap. If there was one thing Dudley loved about Leann, it was that she was nothing at all like his mother, and he helped her back up onto the bed.

"_The_ Harry Potter? The boy who lived? The boy who conquered? The most famous wizard to ever live?" Leann was nearly squeaking with excitement. "Dudley, why on earth didn't you tell me? You're practically related to royalty!"

Dudley stared, quite taken aback by his wifes reaction, and he replied with the honest truth. "Because I didn't know."

Leann was about to question exactly why he didn't know, but thought better of it as she opened her mouth. Instead, she began to plan in her mind. "We have to send him an owl, let him know you're going to be a father, see if he would like to catch up over tea this week. If I understand correctly he's an auror, so he might be a little hard to get a hold of for formalities, but we should be able -" Leann was cut off as Dudley placed his hand over her mouth, and when he spoke it was in a fierce whisper.

"No. I can't see him yet, I'm not ready, he wont accept I've changed."

Leann nipped at Dudley's hand, making him pull it away. "What on earth do you mean Dudley?"

Dudley ground his teeth. Having never told his wife of three years of having a cousin, she didn't know how he had treated his relative growing up, and he wasn't sure he wanted her to know. However, it was extremely hard to lie to his wife, and Dudley knew it was the only way he would make her understand.

"Don't... judge me... please," before Leann could reply, Dudley plowed on. "Harry lived with us when I was growing up... we shared the same house, table, school... but we weren't friends... Mum and Dad made him live in the cupboard under the stairs, treated him like shit, thinking that would knock the magic out of him.

I was a spoilt brat – got what I wanted, when I wanted it – and when I started to bully Harry... they encouraged it. They couldn't care less if me and my _friends_ hurt him physically ever day, Dad applauded me when I did. When I started at Smeltings, he'd always have me use my smelting stick on Harry when we were home at the same time."

Dudley glanced up to see an expression of horror on Leann's face, and he looked down, ashamed. This was why he didn't want to tell Leann – he didn't want her to begin to judge him, to begin to hate him, for what he had been foolish enough to do as a child and teenager. There was silence for several minutes before Dudley felt Leann's hand on his cheek, lifting his face and leaning forward to kiss him lightly.

"No matter what, I love you Dudley Dursely. I don't care what you were like as a child – as long as you're willing to make amends." Her lilac eyes were so inviting, so trusting, so loving, that Dudley could only nod dumbly as he found himself lost for words. "I can contact him today, if you like," Leann added.

Dudley froze, then began to shake his head furiously. "No, no. Not yet. He wont believe me if I told him I'd changed, that I was sorry. He hated me so much growing up... I just, can't." Dudley choked the last words out, unable to keep the unshed tears from his voice. He hated himself for what he had done – when Leann had entered his life, everything he had thought was right changed. He _was_ a changed man, he knew that, really. But Harry wouldn't, Harry needed proof.

"If not now, then when?" Leann queried.

Dudley looked from Leann's face to the swell of her stomach, and he returned his hand to it. "Will they be like you?"

Surprise at the sudden change of topic showed on Leann's face, but she shrugged hopelessly all the same, "I don't know – there's a chance, though. I'll be able to tell as they're growing up, all witch's and wizards show signs of magic growing up in times of extreme emotion – its something they can't control."

Dudley nodded slowly, allowing the words to sink in. "I'll go to him when... when I know about your world," he said with finality. "When I can accept and understand what its like, when I can be comfortable in it, like I belong – that's when I'll go to Harry."

Dudley knew that if Harry could see him in his world, the world he was brought up to hate, he had more chance of making him believe. Leann's mouth curled at Dudley's words, and she brought him closer in a loving embrace.

**Eleven Years Later**

Peter rolled his eyes as his twin, Caroline, giggled uncontrollably and climbed onto her fathers back. Despite being eleven years old, Caroline was still small – and childish – enough to ride on her fathers back. Being the more sensible of the two, or so Peter liked to think, he didn't lower himself to such acts anymore – especially not in public.

"Are we nearly there yet dad?" Caroline asked Dudley Dursley with Leann's lilac eyes. Both children had acquired Dudley's hair, but the rest of them was purely Leann – except perhaps for their strength. Despite their size, they had taken after their father in that department.

"I wouldn't know, Cari, ask your mother," Dudley shifted his position to make it easier to carry his daughter _and_ push her trolley. Though Leann had cast some sort of spell on it to make it lighter, it was still difficult to push through the crowd of Londoners.

"Yes, Mum, are we nearly there?" Peter asked his mother before Caroline could open her mouth again. Leann was looking mischievously excited, and none of her family could pick why.

"Oh, yes, just through here. Come on, just push through, don't worry about being polite. They aren't."

Peter stepped closer to his dad as they continued to move through the crowd, and he said in a mock whisper, "I think mother's gone mad."

"Don't say that, Peter, of course Mummy's not gone mad. That's silly!" Cari spoke up defensively, sliding off her fathers back to take her mothers hand while Dudley struggled to keep his humor in check.

"I said the same thing about your father when I was your age."

As Dudley finished speaking, Leann emitted an excited gasp. She hadn't been to platform nine and three quarters since her last Hogwarts trip, and it wasn't just the thought of seeing the train that excited her – Harry Potter would seeing off his children, as well.

"There it is! Now, how are we going to do this... I have to go through with you Dudley, because you're a muggle... I think you two will have to go in first, on your own. Its safe on the other side." Leann was rambling, and the twins and Dudley shared an amused look as Leann finally came to a conclusion.

"Now, Peter, I want you to take the trolley – don't worry, its not heavy. Now, hold your sisters hand." Leann ignored the twins; protest and continued to order then about. Within several moments they were leaning against a brick pillar, and Leann shooed them off. Dudley, having never noticed how Harry got to his platform, gaped.

"That's amazing," he murmured to Leann as she took his hand with a smile.

"I thought you were used to things like that?"

"Yeah, but still... why can't we have something like that when we need some alone time?" Dudley allowed the giggling Leann to tug him forwards, then pulled him closer. Dudley prepared himself for the unknown, and still had his eyes closed when the sounds of an assortment of animals and voices reached his ears.

"Oh open your eyes Dudley, its an amazing sight." The witch pulled the Dursley along as he followed blindly, but after a few moments his eyes snapped open and he began to ogle his surroundings.

It was true he had spent the past eleven years learning all he could about Leann – and Harry's – world, but that didn't prevent him to being frequently amazed. And still harboring a love for train sets, he really couldn't help but admire the scarlet train as he came to a stop by his children. Caroline was bouncing up and down with excitement, while Peter was only just revealing his emotions. Dudley chuckled, ruffling the boys hair.

"Stop being so serious, Peter, you don't have to grow up yet." Peter gave his father a disgruntled look and began to fix his hair, while Caroline asked Leann a string of questions.

"What house do you think I'll be in mummy? Will I be a Ravenclaw like you?"

"I don't know to tell you the truth sweetie, you'll have to let the sorting decide."

"How are we sorted?" Peter asked, giving up on fixing his hair.

"You'll hate to wait 'till you get there to find out. I want it to be a surprise. It's quite clever, though."

Any conversation following Leann's answer fell on Dudley's deaf ears as he scanned the platform. He had the unnerving feeling he was being watched – and he never liked being watched 'lest he knew who the watcher was.

His gaze traveled over the cloaks, hats, trunks, children and adults until finally coming to rest on a rather large group of witches and wizards. Dudley assumed they were very good friends or an extended family, there to see the children off. Glancing at each face to see if they were watching him, Dudley didn't find his culprit until he reached the adults.

Freckled red head wizard– no, too busy talking heatedly to a freckled, red headed child. Bushy haired witch, too busy talking animatedly with freckled red headed witch. Messy black haired, emerald eyed wizard... staring straight at him.

Dudley narrowed his eyes at the wizard – a distinguishably handsome fellow – and then felt his eyes widen in surprise. He hadn't changed much over the years. Still wirey of frame, hair still extremely messy, eyes still scrutinizing, scar still noticeable on his forehead.

As Dudley tore his gaze away from Harry's, his expression one of mixed emotions, Harry's face remained impassive. He blinked a few times, before turning to his wife, Ginny, to grab her attention. On the outside, he appeared calm and collected – however, beneath the charade, he was quite confused and surprised. _What on earth was Dudley Dursley doing on platform nine and three quarters?_

It had taken Harry several minutes to finally decide that the subject of his undivided attention was indeed Dudley, and had only been confirmed when the witch his cousin was with had said Dudley's name, rather loudly. Allowing a slight frown to draw his eyebrows closer together, Harry leant down, whispering in Ginny's ear. Ginny lifted a brow, before shaking her head and whispering something in return. With a sigh, he nodded, and resisted his urge to walk up to Dudley and confront him. Instead, he placed his attention in his youngest son, Albus, who was looking increasingly worried by the minute.

The scarlet train whistled loudly as Dudley looked to his wife and children. Leann was giving him glances that she seemed to believe he didn't notice, which wasn't the case. Grounding his teeth fleetingly, Dudley leant down to murmur in his wifes ear while the twins continued their animated conversation.

"You knew he'd be here, didn't you?"

Leann nodded slightly, before glancing up at the large clock perched above the arch way leading the way out of the platform. Eyes widening slightly in alarm, the witch grabbed hold of the trolleys and began ushering her children towards the train. "Come on, help me find an empty compartment. You can go socialize once you're on board."

The twins complied, hurrying ahead and peeking into compartment doors in search of an empty one. Dudley followed at a slower pace, watching his wifes back. He was not mad at her, that was a given. In fact, he was beginning to feel quite relieved she hadn't told him his cousin wouldn't be seeing off his own family. He knew he would have wanted to run had that not been the case.

Sparing a glance at Harry, Dudley saw him in what appeared to be deep conversation with who he assumed was his son – or at least, one of them. He would have continued to study the two had he not remembered he had his own children to tend to, and he hurried to assist them put their trunks in a compartment and give them some last minute words, loves, and hugs. The actions distracted him completely from Harry, and it was only as Peter and Carolina leaned out of the compartment window to continue talking to their mother that Dudley remembered his cousin was there.

A few compartments down, Harry was giving his children the same treatment, adding in a bit of playful scolding for James' to be nice and not scare his younger brother or cousins. His gaze kept flickering to his left, eying Dudley through the crowd. He hadn't often thought of his life growing up with the Dursley's – as with many things from the past, he tried to put that behind him. He had not contacted them after defeating Voldemort, having been told by their guards that they were alive and well (as well as a Dursley could be when being protected by wizards, anyway), and had therefore severed all ties with them.

He was extremely surprised to see Dudley here, in a place related to the world he was scared of for, what Harry assumed to be, his entire teenage life. He was also surprised at how much weight Dudley had lost since that fateful night they had went their separate ways. Harry had always assumed Dudley would turn out like his father – very large, no neck, possibly a bristly mustache. It seems fate decided to prove him wrong, however.

A few more words were shared among the family, until the train began to pull away. Grinning at Albus, Harry tried to put all of his reassurance and love in that one expression, and just as Ginny had done the year Ron and Harry started at Hogwarts, he jogged after the train, waving at his son all the way.

Too soon, the scarlet train had rounded the corner and disappeared from view, and Harry eventually returned to his family. Casting his gaze about, Harry found Dudley again. His cousin was staring wistfully after the train, longing and love etched into his expression as he stared after his children. Harry startled, amazed to see such raw emotion from Dudley directed at someone other then his parents – even then, he didn't use such an expression on them.

Dudley smiled briefly, before shaking his head and pulling Leann closer. He was surprised at how strongly he was feeling, not expecting his children's departure for school to affect him so much. Leann smiled up at him, touching his cheek lightly.

"We'll see them in the holidays, you know."

"I know, but that doesn't mean I wont miss them. The house is going to be so empty without them."

"True. Have you thought any more on adopting? I stand by the belief that it would be nice to raise a muggle child as well."

"I think we might have to – I don't think I'll be able to stand the silence. We'll have to wait till the holidays to make a final decision – the twins have to have a say."

Leann nodded, but remained silent as she looked towards the Potter and Weasleys. She was considering dragging Dudley all the way over to them, or allowing him to approach them himself. However, neither course of action got the chance, as both the Potter's and Weasley's made their way to the apparition point of the platform, each disappearing with a loud crack.

The stiffening of Dudley beside her alerted Leann of his change of mood, and she drew him near in a hug. He remained still for a few moments, before slowly returning the embrace. His face was grim as she tilted her own to look at her husband, and give him a wane smile.

"Soon, Dudley, soon."

Dudley only nodded once, allowing himself to be led to the apparition point, soon slipping into condensing darkness.*

***I'm assuming that muggles can participate in side-along apparition, as in apparition only one wand is needed.**


	3. Calculations, Mistakes, & Black Lakes

**And here's the next chapter! I wasn't sure whether or not to go straight to Harry and co after apparition from the platform, but I decided it would be nice to meet the kids better. Of course, these aren't all the students that will be involved, but the rest should be seen soon.**

**Reviews are seriously loved, and I dearly look forward to them! Oh, & sorry for such a short chapter this time 'round =\**

**Calculations, Mistakes and Large Dark Lakes**

As usual, Carolina was a bouncing bubble of excited joy, and her mood had only increased when they had found a compartment on the Hogwarts Express and left the platform, and their parents behind. Peter knew, as only a brother could, that his twin would be horribly home sick the following day, and that he, no doubt, would be there to comfort her.

Watching Cari with an indifferent air, Peter alternated between staring out the window and watching Cari as she chattered on animatedly. It had been roughly fifteen minutes, and so far no one had entered their compartment, and they had not ventured out. However, just as Cari once again broached the subject of houses, there was a knock at the door and it slid open, allowing a freckled red head to stick her head in.

"Oh, hello. D'you mind if we join you? I can't be bothered to find an empty compartment." The girl had a slightly bossy, yet confident air, and she smiled brightly at the two siblings.

"Oh yes, please do! I'm Carolina, this is my brother Peter. What's your name?" Cari's words came out in an amused rush as the two newcomers slipped into the compartment and sat down – one on each side. The red head gave an amused twitch of her lips before answering.

"I'm Rose, that's Albus, my cousin." Rose said, nodding towards the black haired boy sitting on the same side as Cari. At nearly exactly the same time, both Albus and Peter lifted a brow, looking at the girls incredulously. It seemed they were going to be doing all the talking for them.

"Well, it's lovely to meet you both. Are you first years? Peter and I are," then as if to answer a question, Cari added quickly, "we're twins."

As the two girls struck up a lively conversation, Peter studied the boy across from him. He didn't bother being discreet, and after several moments, Albus dropped all shyness and stared curiously back. There was a different in the way each of them treated the other silently, however. Peter's air was of bored curiosity, while Albus did not bother to hide that he was genuinely curious about Peter.

Albus was the first to break the silence, which the girls had failed to notice. "Your dad was staring at mine a lot back at the platform."

"So was yours," at first, Peter's voice seemed light and friendly, but there was an undertone of challenge that only assisted in peeking Albus' interest in Peter more.

"Yes, I wonder why that is. Do you think they know each other?"

"My dads a muggle, and it looked like yours is a wizard, so I don't know how they would know each other."

"Oh, so you're a half-blood then? My Aunt Hermione, Rose's mum, is the brightest witch of her age."

"Albus, stop being modest. Mother is possibly the brightest witch since _Rowena Ravenclaw_!" Upon the mention of her mother, Rose had paused mid sentence to listen to the boys' conversation. As she spoke, her voice was heavily laced with adoration, and Peter coughed quickly to cover up for the laugh that had begun to escape him.

"Are you sure about that, Rose? Mother told us that Rowena Ravenclaw was _extremely_ intelligent, and witty. Also, I remember her mentioning that one of the three that defeated the Dark Lord was the smartest, brightest witch of her age – so maybe you're a little biased?"

There was silence in the compartment for several moments before both Rose and Albus erupted in laughter, Rose coming quite close to falling out of her seat. Soon after, she did just that, and that just caused the laughter to increase. Cari, looking extremely confused, helped Rose back into her seat while asking,

"What on earth is so funny, Rose?"

Wiping away tears of mirth, the eleven year old witch managed to stiffle her laughter enough to answer the question, though her lips were spread into a broad grin.

"My parents are Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley,"

"And my dad is Harry Potter. They're the Golden Trio you're talking about," added Albus, still chuckling.

As understanding dawned on Cari, she erupted in giggles at her brothers mistake. However, Peter's expression only changed slightly – the corner of his mouth twitched and he narrowed his eyes slightly.

"My mistake, wont happen again."

Not long after, once Peter had resumed silence and turned to look out the window, the girls started up their previous conversation. Slightly left out, Albus took it as a chance to study Peter more. If the blonde noticed Albus' scrutinizing, he didn't acknowledge it, and in that time Albus was able to take in everything physical about his appearance. As he did, Albus reflected over the past half hour or so, attempting to unravel the challenge Peter was as a person.

He acted much older then he was, that was a given, and was pretty well spoken. But so was Caroline, in her own hyper and gushing sort of way. It also seemed that Peter didn't like to share his emotions, and Albus struggled to piece Carolina and Peter together as twins, when they seemed so different in all but appearance.

While Albus pondered, Peter fumed. He had made a fool of himself, and that was _definitely_ not a good thing – especially considering it was in front of two fellow students and his sister. He couldn't allow himself another slip like that – he didn't want to be made fun of, looked down on, or anything of the sort, by anyone. He definitely couldn't chance giving anyone reason to. As the countryside sped by, Peter began to think back on recent events, starting with the letter.

Both Peter and Cari had known they were wizard and witch for a few years, and so it wasn't that much of surprise when they received their letters from Hogwarts – they'd been prepared, after all. However, it was still an exciting day, and they had all went about making plans for their trip to Diagon Alley the next day.

It wasn't the first time the family had been there – every other Sunday, when Dudley had the day off, they would go to Diagon Alley and while their time away wandering the street, eating ice creams and just plain enjoying themselves. In the years since the Dark Lord's defeat, Knocturn Alley had been rid of anything relating to the dark arts and now hosted a series of modern shops which Cari and Peter thoroughly enjoyed.

The day after receiving their letters was as exciting as any other, though the highlight was definitely finding their wands. Olivander, the wand maker, was extremely old and no longer helped the to-be students find their wands. Instead, his apprentice Orla Quirke, who had gone to Hogwarts herself, tended to customers.

Peter was jerked abruptly from his reminiscing by the sound of the compartment door opening, and a plump, motherly lady greeted them with a warm smile.

"Anything from the trolley dears?"

As usual, Cari pounced at the opportunity for candy, and quickly began filling her arms with this and that. Rose remained seated, but Albus stood and collected a few items (mostly chocolate frogs), before paying, along with Cari.

Dumping their wares on the seats, the two began to share their treats around. Peter took a chocolate frog, just to be polite, but Rose didn't bother being discreet in how much she was eating (though most of it had been payed by her cousin).

Half an hour later, both Albus and Peter were talkative again, and there was a collection of wrappers, crumbs and cards in place of the sweets. Collecting up the cards, Rose sorted them, before announcing the totals.

"Three of mum, two of dad, four of Uncle Harry, one of Bagshot, one of Dumbledore." The list steam-rolled off Rose's tongue, and she handed one of Harry and Hermione to the other three, before holding out the last of them. "You guys can fight, I have all of them."

And so time continued to pass as they argued over who got what, then shared childhood stories and tales they'd heard of Hogwarts. Rose and Albus were of course full of such stories, while those Cari and Peter had were much more mild. However, they had a thoroughly enjoyable time all the way till they were within sight of the castle, and that's when things sobered up.

Shrugging on their robes and joining the throng that pushed and shoved its way to the doors, the four were soon swept up with the throng of first years that were following a booming voice, which of course belonged to the half-giant Hagrid. Cari and Peter, who had never seen such a large man, stared in awe with mouths agape. Rose and Albus, on the other hand, simply allowed the grounds keeper come teacher to sweep them into a bone crashing hug.

Sometime later, Cari would question Rose about Hagrid, and she would be met with this reply. "He was ground keeper and teacher when Mum, Dad and Uncle Harry were here. He's a really good family friend, and half giant. His son is coming here next year, and his daughter is going to the French school where his wife is headmistress – she's half giant too. But don't spread that around too much."

But back we go, to the Black Lake, and all the 'ickle-licke first years', as peeves would put it. As usual, the still water was only broken by roughly twenty or more boats streaking along unaided. It appeared the ride was going to be a very unexciting one. However, that all changed when a sudden splash and giant tentacle caused multiple people to scream. Again it happened, this time on the opposite site of the small fleet. Cari, who had been chattering quietly, stilled and clung to Peter's arm, looking around with widened eyes. When Hagrid's voice boomed over their heads, informing them 'no' ta worry, s'only tha' giant squid,' she jumped quite high and gripped even tighter to Peter's already numbing arm.

After hearing this, Rose jumped in to inform them everything she knew about the squid – how it really was quite friendly, even saved Dennis Creevey when he fell into the Lake on this same journey all those years ago, and how it loved to have its tentacles tickled on lazy summer days.

Her running commentary helped Cari calm down, Peter's arm regained its feeling, and the journey across the lake moved much more quickly then it had been. Now, all the new group of friends had to do was face the sorting, all end up, miraculously, in the same house, and... well, yes, one can hope, can't they?


End file.
